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Kwaya Narrative Discourse

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Shannon Ronit Odom

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©_{2015 SIL International}®

ISSN 1939-0785

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iv Abstract

A note on the texts

1 Constituent elements of narrative texts 1.1 Types of narrative texts

1.2 Structure of narrative texts

1.3 Linguistic features in Kwaya narrative texts 1.3.1 Orientation section

1.3.7 The role of songs in traditional Kwaya narratives 2 Paragraphs

2.1 Paragraphs in the text H1 2.2 Paragraphs in the text H8 2.3 Points of departure

4.3 Reactivation of participants after an absence 4.4 Further reference to active participants 4.5 Pronouns

5 Tense and aspect in foreground and background 5.1 Tense and aspect markers in Kwaya

5.2 Foreground 5.3 Background

5.4 Movement expressions 5.5 Summary

6 Information structure

6.1 Fundamental concepts in information structure 6.2 Presentational articulation (sentence focus)

6.3 Topic-comment articulation (predicate focus with a switch topic) 6.4 Predicate focus with a continued topic

6.5 Identificational articulation (argument focus) 6.6 Summary

7 Adverbial clauses and relative clauses 7.1 Adverbial clauses

7.2 Relative clauses

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8 Reported speech

8.1 Functions of direct and indirect speech: foreground and background 8.2 Speech introducers in direct speech

8.3 Vocatives

9 Emphasis

9.1 Lexical expressions of emphasis 9.2 Repetition

Appendix A: H1—The Girl and the Servant Appendix B: H2—The Suitor and the Frog Appendix C: H7—Nyandege and the Cows

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1

The account presented here is based on a corpus of ten oral texts provided by eight mother-tongue Kwaya speakers in the Mara Region of Tanzania. Five men and three women provided the text corpus. The majority of the narrators were born and raised in Kigera Etuma, which is located on the eastern side of the Kwaya language area. The ages of the narrators range from thirty-one to seventy years old at the time of the narration. The women who provided stories H3, H4, H6 and S3 had not received any formal education, whereas other narrators had completed at least fifth grade. The narrator of H1 completed the equivalent of high school, H2’s narrator completed eleventh grade and H7’s completed a teacher’s certificate.1

The oral texts were very lightly edited by a fluent Kwaya speaker to correct some performance errors. Otherwise, they all retain features (such as repetitions and longer sentences) that are particular to the medium. The texts are referred to by one of two letters (either S or H) and a number. Nonfiction stories are referred to by an S, while fictional stories are referred to by an H.

All of the examples used in this paper are taken from these texts and are referred to using the text number followed by the sentence number. If a sentence contains more than one clause, letters are used, so example H1.6b is taken from Text H1, sentence 6, clause b.

The charts for the texts are divided into seven columns: Pre-Nuclear Outer (Pre-NO), Pre-Nuclear Inner (Pre-NI), Subject (S), Verb (V), Object/Compliment (O/C), Nuclear Inner (NI) and Post-Nuclear Outer (Post-NO). Table 1 shows which types of constituents typically occur in the different columns.

Table 1. Typical contents of chart columns

Column Typical content

Pre-NO Clause place holder of preceding dependent clause Noun of direct address

Temporal point of departure (POD)

S Subject

Clause place holder of preceding dependent clause which functions as subject V Verb(s) (including any material intervening between main verb and auxiliary)

Adverb

O/C Object

Complement

Clause place holder of following dependent clause which functions as object Post-NI Locative

Temporal expression

‘and’ (when followed by phrase not clause), ‘with’, ‘like’ Post-NO Clause place holder of following dependent clause

Idiophone Quote marker

Postposed constituent

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A darker line in the charts represents the end of a sentence and a thick black line the end of a paragraph. Independent clauses are shown in black, dependent clauses in blue, song clauses in purple and speech clauses in green and underlined. Constituents that have been preposed or postposed are shown in red, and two red chevrons (>> or <<) are placed in the column from which they have been moved. Clause place holders are shown in blue, purple or green square brackets according to whether they point to a dependent clause, song clause or a speech clause, respectively. Table 2 lists the chart labels used.

Table 2. Abbreviations

Label Description Label Description

# Noun class number FV Final vowel

1P First person plural HAB Habitual aspect

1S First person singular INDPN Independent pronoun

2P Second person plural INF Infinitive

2S Second person singular LOC Locative

3P Third person plural MANN Manner aspect

3S Third person singular NARR Narrative

APP Applicative NC Noun class

ASSOC Associative NEG Negative

CAUS Causative P Plural

COMPL Completive P1 Near past

COND Conditional P2 Intermediate past

CONJ Conjunction P3 Far past

COP Copula PER Persistive

DEM1 Proximal demonstrative POSS Possessive

DEM2 Referential demonstrative PRES Present

DEM3 Distal demonstrative PSTANT Past Anterior

EMPHPN Emphatic pronoun S Singular

FUT1 Near future SUBJ Subjunctive

FUT3 Distant future TAM Tense Aspect Modality

TEMP Temporal marker

1 Constituent elements of narrative texts

The following section examines the constituent elements of narrative texts.

1.1 Types of narrative texts

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Table 3. Story summaries of the texts

Text Summary of text

H1 A sister goes on a journey to visit her brother. She is supposed to wear certain clothes, but is tricked on the way to change clothes, so her brother doesn’t recognize her when she arrives. Eventually, she is revealed to be his sister.

H2 A man has a beautiful daughter. He tests suitors to find the best husband for her.

H3 A hare babysits the eggs of his friend, the crocodile. The hare eats all but one of the eggs. H4 A man is teaching his son to trap and spear animals. The son lets an animal go after being

trapped, and the animal later returns the favor when the son is trapped.

H6 A mother-in-law puts her son-in-law in a trap in the water. He sings and those drawing water hear him. Finally, the father hears him and rescues him, but not before his eyes and bones have been damaged.

H7 Boys go out to herd their cows but lose them while swimming. They then have to search for them and return them.

H8 The hare collects some water. He then gives it to some blacksmiths and gets knives. He gives the knives to some sorghum farmers and gets sorghum. He gives the sorghum to a chicken and gets an egg.

S2 A woman recounts a time when she fell asleep while herding her father’s cows and they ate another man’s cassava plants. The father beat her and then explained that he depends on her as the oldest daughter.

S3 A personal narrative of the different villages/towns that he lived in and why he moved between the different locations.

S4 A woman recounts a time she went to church, and it was a difficult journey to get there. She met trials along the way, including a man with a machete. But, in the end God helped her to be able to arrive at church.

Seven can be described as ‘climactic’ (H1, H2, H3, H4, H6, H7 and S4). Two of the texts are ‘episodic’ (H8 and S3), and one (S2) is a climatic narrative with a long hortatory portion.

1.2 Structure of narrative texts

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Table 4. Sections of a typical climactic narrative text

Section Function Typical linguistic features

Orientation section

(introduction and setting the scene)

- Introduces major participants - Provides a time/place setting for

the story

- Foreshadows story purpose

- Presentational formula for major participants

- Often a relative clause hinting at story theme

- Typical background tense/aspect - General time and place markers

Inciting episode - Gets the story moving - Use of point of departure (POD). Often the phrase ‘one day’ or equivalent

- Often a verb of movement Developmental

episodes

- Develops the conflict - Episodes (paragraphs) that develop a conflict needing to be resolved. - Often multiple paragraphs - Usage of a narrative tense Peak episode - Maximizes tension, bringing story

to a climax

- Heightened vividness/detail

- Usage of idiophones and direct speech - Shift of tense

- Suppression of transitional markers Denouement - Resolves tension - Often includes predictable elements Conclusion - Explains moral - Moral stated directly, or with a proverb

Table 5 shows how this structure can be seen in all ten texts. The numbers in the table refer to sentence numbers in each text.

Table 5. Sections of all texts

Section H1 H2 H3 H4 H6 H7 H8

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Table 6. Description of sections in H2

Section Sentences Description

Orientation section

1–2 There was an old man with a beautiful daughter, and multiple men wanted to marry her.

Inciting episode 3–5 The men went to the father to ask to marry her, and he says that he will test them.

Developmental episodes

6–8 The first and second men try and fail the test.

9–12 A third suitor comes to attempt the test and is sure he will win. 13–17 The night of the test arrives, and he is shut in a hut and told he must

find a way to remove all the water from a barrel, but he can’t pour it out.

18–22 The suitor ponders how he will complete the test. 23–27 A frog shows up and he explains the test to the frog.

28–30 The frog offers to drink all the water for the suitor, and the suitor agrees to the deal.

Peak episode(s) 31–32 The frog drinks all the water.

33–36 The next morning the father comes to the hut and sees that there is no water in the barrel. The frog has already left.

Denouement 37–42 The father is surprised and happy and gives his daughter in marriage to the suitor.

Conclusion 43 The end.

1.3 Linguistic features in Kwaya narrative texts

1.3.1 Orientation section

Five out of the seven fictional narratives begin with the introduction of a participant using a

presentational formula consisting of a locative verb in distant past tense (P3) with the habitual aspect suffix, followed by a present tense copula with a locative enclitic. This compound verb is followed by a postposed subject that is typically accompanied by the modifier -mwi ‘one’. This pattern is illustrated in example (1).

3P-COP 2.two CONJ relative.POSS.3S He was there one child, they were there two of them with his relative.

In longer orientation sections the major participants are usually referred to after their introduction by means of verbal affixes only, but a referential demonstrative may also be used.

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(2) H1.1–H1.4

Pre-NO Pre-NI S V O/C Post-NI Post-NO

1a >> :A-a-ri-ga a-ri-wo omukaruka umwi na mukaaye

3S-P3-COP-HAB 3S-COP-LOC 1.old man 1.one CONJ 1.his wife

1b --- m-be-ebhur-a mwana wa kimura

NARR-3P-give birth-FV 1.child 1.ASSOC 7.male

2a Omwana uyo ^n-aa-kur-a

1.child 1.DEM2 NARR-3S-grow up-FV

2b --- ^n-e-emuk-a

NARR-3S-wake up-FV

2c --- ^n-aa-j-a mu-bhyaro bhya kura eyo

NARR-3S-enter-FV LOC-8.country 8.ASSOC far 17.DEM2

3a Kimwi --- m-ba-subh-a-yo

so NARR-3P-return-FV-LOC

3b --- m-be-ebhur-a omwana owa ekiyara

NARR-3P-give birth-FV 1.child 1.ASSOC 7.female

4a Omwana uyo owa

ekiyara

^n-aa-kur-a a-ri ewaabho ayo

1.child 1.DEM2

3S-COP-LOC relative 1.ASSOC 7.male

4d --- a-ri mu-byaro eyo

3S-COP LOC-country 17.DEM2

There was a certain old man and his wife, they had a son. The son grew up and decided to move far away. So, the old man and his wife returned and had a daughter. The girl grew up there hearing that her brother was away in another country.

One of the instances where the presentational formula is not used is in H3, a story where Mutuuju

‘Hare’ is a main character. This is probably due to the hare being a fairly well-known character in traditional stories. The other story (H7) that does not include the presentational formula does not have an orientation section.

There is no consistent presentational form or tense used in the nonfictional narratives. Each of the nonfiction stories is a personal narrative, and the narrators do not introduce themselves formally. The two nonfiction texts that contain an orientation section both include some temporal information, such as when the story took place in the narrator’s life, as example (3) illustrates.

(3) S3.1

Pre-NO Pre-NI S V O/C Post-NI Post-NO

1 Anye obhumura bhwani << na-a-ri-ga ni-ika-aye kw-Irugwa 1S.INDPN 14.youth 14.POSS.1S 1S-P3-COP-HAB 3S-reside-P2 LOC-Irugwa In my childhood I was living in Irugwa.

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(4) S2.1 To be there herding, our boy was still a child; indeed I was herding (cows).

1.3.2 Inciting episode

There are multiple ways in which the inciting episode is begun, but some generalizations can be made. Tense is generally narrative, woori ‘now’ often begins the inciting episode and sometimes a point of departure is used. For example, the connective woori ‘now’ is used in H1 and H6, being followed by the narrative TAM form (NARR) in all mainline events:

(5) H6.2

Pre-NO Pre-NI S V O/C Post-NI Post-NO

2 Woori bhabhiri na waamuwaabho muka esemwene ^n-aa-kor-a ichuuki ya shetaani now 2.two CONJ relative 1.wife.3S father.3S NARR-3S-make-FV 9.hatred 9.ASSOC Satan Now both the relatives, his father’s wife developed a satanic hatred.

In the text H4 woori ‘now’ is followed by a temporal adverbial phrase in clause 2a. In clause 2b, P1 is used as part of the event line before the event line TAM returns to the more common NARR in clause 2c.

11.day 11.DEM2 3S-P1-trap-HAB-FV 10.animal 2c orusuku ruyo --- ^n-aa-gend-a

Now, when he went, that day he was trapping animals, that day he went, then he met an Injiramaguta, it is there this Injiramaguta.

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Texts H7, H3 and S3 employ different forms of temporal PODs followed by NARR in the inciting episode. H7’s POD is a simple noun phrase. In H3 baada ya ‘after…’ is followed by an infinitive verb. S3’s temporal POD includes a verb inflected for P2:

(7) S3.2

2a [Baada ya okubha --- ni-ika-aye kw-Irugwa]

after 1.ASSOC INF.be 1S-reside-P2 LOC-Irugwa

2b [2a] --- n-in-sook-a-yo

NARR-1S-leave-FV-LOC

2c --- n-ii-j-a mu-kijiji anu

NARR-2S-come-FV LOC-7.village 16.DEM1 After residing in Irugwa, I left there and then came to a village there.

Two out of the three nonfiction narratives do not employ a POD in the inciting episode and begin immediately with P3,as in S4, or even P1 with habitual aspect, as in S2. In H8, which is the episodic narrative, there is no temporal POD in the inciting episode. The inciting episode starts immediately with the subject and the NARR tense: The hare went where there was a place where there was calm water.

As can be seen from the examples above, NARR is the preferred tense for inciting episodes, woori

‘now’ can begin an inciting episode and PODs are used but are not obligatory.

1.3.3 Developmental episodes

Throughout developmental episodes, the default reference method for major participants is through the use of subject and object prefixes only or noun phrases coupled with a demonstrative. There are three demonstrative forms, and all three can be coupled with a noun phrase in the developmental episodes.

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(9) H2.3a

3a Woori abhatwasi bhayo m-ba-gend-a owa omukaruka uyo

now 2.suitor 2.DEM2 NARR-3P-go-FV 1.ASSOC 1.old man 1.DEM2 Now, the suitors then went there to the old man’s place.

About half of the developmental episodes begin without a temporal point of departure; the first verb is inflected for NARR, and may or may not be preceded by a connective such as baasi ‘so’, woori ‘now’ or mmbe ‘so’. Another quarter of the developmental episodes each have a temporal POD followed by a verb inflected for NARR. Only a quarter of the developmental episodes begin with P3 on the first verb. When this occurs, it is always background information. Example (10) illustrates the use of P3with a POD for background information. The first foreground verb is inflected for NARR.

(10) H1.8a–H1.8b

Pre-NO Pre-NI S V O/C Post-NI Post-NO

8a Kimwi orusuku ruyo :rw-a-gobh-ere

So 11.day 11.DEM2 11-P3-arrive-P3

8b abheebhusi bhaaye m-ba-geg-a ebhiinu ebhya okurya

2.parent 2.POSS.3S NARR-3P-take-FV 8.thing 8.ASSOC INF.eat So, that day arrived, her parents then took things to eat.

There are different patterns for how developmental episodes are formed. In H2 the narrator always starts with a connective, either woori or mmbe, but these connectives are followed by NARR half the time and P3 the other half. In H8, NARR is used consistently at the beginning of every developmental episode. The first verb of every developmental episode in H1 is in P3. In other texts, however, there is less consistency in the use of tenses or connectives at episode boundaries.

Both direct and indirect speech is typically preceded by the quote marker ati ‘that’, but this is not always the case. Reported speech is discussed further in section 8.

1.3.4 Peak episode

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Table 7. Description of peak features in all texts

Text Peak features

H1 Dramatic speech by the daughter declaring that she is in fact the sister and not the servant. This is the longest speech in the entire text. This peak also includes four instances of an emphatic copula, which does not occur elsewhere in the text.

H2 Both peak episodes are marked by their lack of postposed or preposed constituents, whereas this is a prominent feature in the other portions of the text. In the first peak episode, the mainline verb in the narrative is repeated fifteen times in a row. The second peak episode is marked by the use of past anterior TAM forms outside of a speech.

H3 In this peak episode, the subject prefix for the hare changes from a- ‘3S’to ka-, which is the subject prefix for class 12 (diminutive). This change to the diminutive class is the most significant

marking of this peak episode, because it changes how one of the main participants is referred to. There is also a longer speech by the hare admitting fault and emphasizing that he ate all but one of the eggs. The peak also includes the only instance of an emphatic copula.

H4 There are two speeches in the peak episode: one speech is a direct repetition by the same participant of a previous speech; the second speech includes a revelation and a repetition of a previous speech by a different participant. So, both speeches are repetitions of previous speeches. The second speech is also marked by the fact that each sentence is only one clause long, whereas there are few sentences in the text that are only one clause long, and never more than one at a time.

H6 This text’s peak episode is marked by all the verbs in this episode being foreground or mainline events. NARR is the only TAM form used throughout this episode (there is one verb in present tense, but it occurs in a dependent clause). There is no background information in this episode and no speech clauses. The peak episode is the only place outside of speech where an independent or additive pronoun is used.

H7 There is only one possible feature indicating the peak in this text; at the beginning of the peak episode, the phrase niwe eyo ‘surely there at that place’ is repeated twice.

H8 This episodic narrative does not include a peak episode.

S2 The entirety of the peak episode is a hortative speech by the narrator’s father. This narrative has a lot of speech clauses, but this is by far the longest.

S3 This episodic narrative does not include a peak episode.

S4 This text contains two peak episodes. The first includes a self-encouraging speech of trust in God by the narrator; this speech gives her the courage to face the trouble before her. The second peak episode does not appear to be marked at all.

As can be seen from the table above, texts such as H1, H3, H4 and S2 are marked by the speeches in the peak episode, whereas H6 is marked by the complete lack of speech. Other texts are marked in the peak by verbal repetition, or changing of the subject prefix for a major participant. In other texts peak-marking features are few. One of the peak episodes in S4 is not marked at all, whereas other texts have several peak-marking features.

1.3.5 Denouement

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denouement episode. This denouement follows a peak episode in which the Injuramaguta releases a boy from his bonds. This denouement reveals the results of the boy being freed—he is able to return home.

(11) H4.29

29a Injuramaguta n-ii-mu-geg-a

Injuramaguta NARR-9-3S-take-FV

29b --- n-ii-mu-yeek-a emugongo

NARR-9-3S-carry-FV 18.back

29c --- n-ii-mu-sir-a owa esemwene omutooto

NARR-9-3S-take-FV 1.ASSOC father.POSS.3S 1.small The Injuramaguta took him, carried him on his back and took him to his father’s house.

1.3.6 Conclusion

A formal conclusion is not a requisite feature of narratives in Kwaya, but if a conclusion is included, the default format includes the verb okwera ‘to end/conclude’. The subject of the verb okweera in the conclusion varies. The conclusion also often will include a locative demonstrative or even a locative affixed to the verb.

(12) H2.43

43 Amang’ana n-ga-weer-a ayo

6.matter NARR-6-conclude-FV 16.DEM2

The story concluded there.

Narratives can also be concluded using the connective baasi ‘so’.

(13) H4.30

30 Baasi --- n-ii-sook-a-wo

So NARR-9-left-FV-LOC

So, it ended there.

1.3.7 The role of songs in traditional Kwaya narratives

Songs are sung by the main participant who is in trouble. The song is used to alert others to the trouble and explain it. Three of the seven fictional narratives include a song, but none of the nonfictional narratives do. Often the songs mark a turn in the story and can lead into or towards the peak of the story.

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(14) H1.23c–H1.23d

23c [Saau Saagusa omugaya a-ra-bhe-eye mwibure 1.servant 3S-P3COMPL-be-P3 1.native

23d Saagusa omwibure a-ra-bhe-eye mugaya Saagusa]

1.native 3S-P3COMPL-be-P3 1.servant

Saau Saagusa, the servant has already become the native. Saagusa, the native has already become the servant, Saagusa.

The song in H6 functions in a similar way to the song in H1 and also leads into the peak episode. This song, however, is repeated in both of the episodes that directly precede the peak. The first time, the song alerts passersby that there is trouble, whereas the second time, it alerts the boy’s father that he is in distress. This song is also different in that it is much longer than the song in H1, and instead of nonsense words being used, words from a related language, Jita, are used. The function still is very similar to the song in H1.

H7 also includes a song, but its function is slightly different. This song is sung several episodes before the peak episode and is used to call cows back to their herders. There are very few Kwaya words in this song, and the Kwaya speakers who were consulted during the course of this write-up did not know what language is used in the song. In this story, cows have run away, the boys go searching for the cows while singing this song and eventually find all their cows in another town. It is in this town where the story mostly takes place. While this song does not occur before the main peak of the story, it could be viewed as a pre-peak or mini-peak, because it brings the participants to the place where the action will occur.

2 Paragraphs

Paragraphs mark “thematic units” within a text, containing closely related material. Continuity of participants, time, place and theme is usually maintained within a paragraph (or if there is a change of time or place, this is usually an expected rather than an abrupt change), and so paragraph breaks correspond to places in the text where there is a discontinuity of some kind. There is no consistent way that new paragraphs are marked. In the two texts that were examined for this section, only four paragraphs began with a point of departure. Most verbs are inflected for NARR, with a few paragraphs beginning with P3 or PRES. In H1 kimwi ‘then/so’ is used at the beginning of almost all of the paragraphs, but it also occurs in the middle of some paragraphs.

2.1 Paragraphs in the text H1

Paragraph 1 (H1.1–H1.2) and paragraph 2 (H1.3–H1.4) comprise the orientation section. Paragraph 1 introduces the parents and then their son who is one of the major participants and has moved far away. Paragraph 2 returns to the parents and introduces the second major participant, their daughter who grows up hearing of her brother who lives far away. The discontinuity between the paragraphs therefore is in the participants and the location of the events (as we leave the son in the far country, we return to the parents’ home).

Paragraph 3 (H1.5–H1.7) is the inciting episode and begins with the temporal POD Woori orusuku

orumwi ‘Now, one day’. The daughter declares to her parents that she wants to go and visit her brother.

Her parents agree and send a messenger to her brother, letting him know that she is coming and will be wearing special clothes. Paragraph 4 (H1.8–H1.11) begins the daughter’s journey with one of the family servants to her brother’s country. This paragraph is set off by the temporal POD kimwi orusuku ruyo ‘so, one day’, causing a discontinuity in time from the previous paragraph.

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daughter into letting her wear her special clothes, and as they get close to their destination, the servant refuses to give the clothes back. Paragraph 5 includes both the developmental episodes 2 and 3.

Paragraph 6 (H1.18–H1.22) has discontinuity in that the focus is switched to the brother. The paragraph is set off by tail-head linkage connecting the end of paragraph 5 to this new paragraph and participant focus. The brother sends out one of his servants to retrieve his sister, but they take the servant instead because she is wearing the special clothes. The sister is put to work on her brother’s land, and her hard work is juxtaposed with the servant’s easy life in the brother’s house.

Paragraph 7 (H1.23–H1.24), in which the sister sings a song of woe, is set off by the temporal POD

rusuku rumwi ‘one day’. Paragraph 8 (H1.25–H1.31), in which the brother discovers the trickery of the

servant and rescues his sister from hard labor, shows discontinuity of time after the sister sings, indicated by the POD orusuku orumwi ‘one day’.

Paragraph 9 (H1.32–H1.33) shows thematic discontinuity as it wraps up the story by repeating the brother’s discovery of his sister, and showing that the servant is punished.

2.2 Paragraphs in the text H8

In contrast to the text H1, there are few linguistic indicators of paragraph breaks in this text.

Paragraph 1 (H8.1–H8.2) comprises the orientation section as well as the inciting episode, in which the hare goes and gets some water.

In paragraph 2 (H8.3–H8.8) the hare takes the water and walks for a long time, finally meeting up with some blacksmiths. Most of this paragraph concerns the blacksmiths; the hare provides them with water so that they can complete their work, and then they toss out the remaining water. Paragraph 3 (H8.9–H8.14) concludes the hare’s interaction with the blacksmiths, but there is a time lapse between when the paragraphs 2 and 3 take place, illustrated through the use of a temporal POD when the hare returns.

Paragraph 4 (H8.15–H8.19) shows the hare leaving and traveling for a while before meeting some fishermen. The hare then gives them some knives. Paragraph 5 (H8.20–H8.25) progresses through time as the fishermen use all the knives and then throw them away. The hare also returns in this paragraph, and the fishermen give him some sorghum.

In paragraph 6 (H8.26–H8.31) the hare continues on his journey and meets a chicken. The hare gives the chicken the sorghum. Paragraph 7 (H8.32–H8.35) starts with the chicken eating all the sorghum. The hare returns asking for the sorghum, but receives one egg instead.

The final paragraph (H8.36–H8.37) leaves all other participants behind and shows just the hare returning home with one of the chicken’s eggs. This paragraph is also set off by an infinitive verb functioning as a POD.

Tail-head linkage is used in lines H8.26 and H8.36; however, other paragraphs are marked simply by a change in who is in the subject position of the sentence (as in paragraph 5, 6, 7 and 8).

2.3 Points of departure

In order to bridge the discontinuities of a narrative, a language may use a point of departure to bridge two sections (that is, to introduce a new paragraph). In order to function as a POD, the phrase or clause in question must occur at the beginning of a sentence (not counting a conjunction or an interjection, which may precede it). Potentially, there are three types of PODs: referential, temporal and spatial; however, only temporal PODs are found. Tail-head linkage in Kwaya is also discussed.

There are no examples in the data of spatial or referential PODs in the Kwaya text corpus. Topical subjects, which could be interpreted as referential points of departure since they occur at the beginning of sentences, rarely occur at the start of a new paragraph. In the following example, omwana owa ekiyara

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(15) H1.3b–H1.4a

3b --- m-be-ebhur-a omwana owa ekiyara

NARR-3P-give birth-FV 1.child 1.ASSOC 7.female

4a Omwana uyo owa ekiyara ^n-aa-kur-a a-ri ewaabho ayo

1.child 1.DEM2 1.ASSOC 7.female NARR-3S-grew up-FV 3S-COP 17.POSS.3P 16.DEM2

…then they gave birth to a female child. That female child grew up there at their place…

Temporal PODs, in contrast, are common in most of the Kwaya texts. In H1 and H8 noun phrases, an adverbial clause, a relative clause and certain verb forms are used as temporal PODs. Noun phrase temporal PODs are listed in example (16), the adverbial clause temporal POD is listed in example (17) and the relative clause is listed in (18).

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Woori orusuku orumwi ‘Now one day…’ (H1.5a)

Rusuku rumwi ‘One day…’ (H1.23a)

Baadaaye ‘Later…’ (H8.9a) (17)

Kimwi orusuku ruyo rwagobhere ‘So, when that day arrived…’ (H1.8a) (18)

Anu :bhaakingire mu-njira ‘At that time (when) they arrived in the path…’ (H1.12a) Another temporal POD is formed with the verb eejire or bheejire, which is the P3 form of okuja ‘to

come’, which is glossed as ‘when she/he ‘came’. In this particular construction, eejire and bheejire act as auxiliary verbs and are followed by the main verb in P1. The following example is taken from H4, and it

illustrates this compound verb construction acting as a temporal POD in clause 12a. (19) H4.11–H4.12b

Pre-NO Pre-NI S V O/C Post-NI Post-NO

11a Baasi omumura waaye unu ^n-aa-i-sibhur-a

So 1.boy 1.POSS.3S 1.DEM1 NARR-3S-9-release-FV

So, that one, his boy released it and it went. His father when he had left there said, “…”.

There are no examples in H1, H2, H8, S2 or S3 of this construction. However, this is a frequent construction in the other five texts in the data corpus.

There is one example of eejire not being followed by a verb in P1; eejire still functions within a

temporal POD, and the following clause’s verb is inflected for P1, but they are not in the same clause.

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(20) H1.17–H1.18

Pre-NO Pre-NI S V O/C Post-NI Post-NO

17 Omugaya ^n-aa-remer-a

1.servant NARR-3S-refuse-FV

18a [--- :E-e-j-ire oku-remer-a bha-chaa-ri]

3S-TEMP-come-P3 INF-refuse-FV 3P-PER-COP 18b [18a] waamuwaabho urya ^n-aa-bha-ror-a

relative.3S 1.DEM3 NARR-3S-3P-see-FV

The servant refused. While she was still refusing, that relative saw them.

Infinitive verbs can also be used as temporal PODs in Kwaya. The infinitive verb can be the implied result of the previous clause’s action, as example (21) illustrates.

(21) H8.35–H8.36

35 --- ^N-aa-mu-waan-a rigi

NARR-3S-3S-give-FV 5.egg

36a [--- Oku-geg-a]

INF-take-FV

36b [36a] --- ^n-aa-geg-a rigi NARR-3S-take-FV 5.egg

36c --- ^n-aa-gend-a naryo owaaye

NARR-3S-go-FV CONJ.5 LOC.POSS.3S

Then he gave him an egg. [Upon] Taking it, he took the egg and then he went with it to his place.

The infinitive can also be the exact verb from the previous clause, as given in example (22).

(22) H8.25–H8.26

25 --- M-ba-mu-waan-a obhuro

NARR-3P-3S-give-FV 14.sorghum

26a [--- Oku-mu-waan-a obhuro]

INF-3S-give-FV 14.sorghum

26b [26a] --- ^n-aa-gend-a

NARR-3S-go-FV

They gave him the sorghum plants. Giving him the sorghum plants, he then left.

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3 Connectives

This section provides an overview of connectives in Kwaya as well as their uses as additives, concessives and thematic development markers.

3.1 Connectives overview

Connectives were examined in all ten texts to see if any patterns emerged. Many of the connectives used in Kwaya are also found in Swahili, which indicates that many of the Kwaya connectives are borrowed from Swahili. The connectives found in the data corpus are listed in tables 8 and 9.

Table 8. Coordinating connectives/conjunctions

Connective Gloss Occurrence Origin

(h)aya OK Found in H8 and S3; located in various environments. Swahili

ama or Found only in S4; used as an intrasentential connective twice in the same sentence.

Swahili

au or Found only once in S2; used as an intrasentential connective. Swahili

baasi so, then Found in all texts except H1, H2 and S2; sometimes coupled with

woori.

Swahili

bira without Found only once in all the texts; it is used as an intrasentential

connective.

Swahili

ka woori so now Used only once as an intersentential connective; used in speech. Kwaya

kandi woori so now Used only once at the beginning of speech. Kwaya

kimwi then, so Found only in two texts, H1 and S2; in S2 it is spelled chimwi but this

is probably due to influence from Jita.

Kwaya

kwa iyo so Found mostly in speech clauses, but once directly following speech. Swahili

kwa kweri really Occurs only once at the beginning of a denouement. Swahili

maana meaning Occurs only once intrasententially. Swahili

mmbe then, so Found only in two texts, H2 and H8. Kwaya

na and Used typically as an additive; used more in speech than in narration. Kwaya

-oone and Glossed typically as an additive pronoun; does not occur in H1, H8,

S2 or S4.

Kwaya

rakiini but Used only a few times as an intrasentential connective. Swahili

woori now S2 is the only text where this connective does not occur. Kwaya

yaani in other

words

Both times when this connective occurs, it is within direct speech. Swahili

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Table 9. Subordinating connectives/conjunctions

Connective Gloss Occurrence Origin

ajiri ya because Found only once in S4; used as an intrasentential connective. Swahili

iri kusudi so that Based on the one use of this connective, it correlates to ili in Swahili. Swahili

kwa kutyo thusly Occurs only once and within speech; kutyo is Kwaya for hivyo in

Swahili Swahili

raabhe if Found only once outside of a speech clause in S4. Kwaya

From the texts we can see that the majority of connectives used in Kwaya are borrowed from Swahili or are derived from Swahili connectives. It can also be seen that many of the Swahili-borrowed connectives occur only within speech clauses.

3.1.1 Connectives between sentences

Juxtaposition is the default manner of coordination between sentences. If a connective is used, the most common connectives used between sentences are baasi ‘so’ or woori ‘now’. Two other connectives in the texts that are used in the same way as baasi (and are glossed the same way) are mmbe and kimwi. Only about a sixth of the sentences use an intersentential connective. An example is shown in clause 29a below.

29a Baasi Wang’wena woone ^n-aa-fug-a

so crocodile 1.all NARR-3S-row-FV

29b --- ^n-aa-fug-a

NARR-3S-row-FV

He said, “Row quickly, the wind is coming.” So, the crocodile rowed and rowed.

These connectives are very versatile and can occur in many different environments within the text.

Baasi can be found in the middle of an episode, middle of a paragraph, directly following speech, within

speech and even in the middle of a sentence. Woori occurs more frequently at the beginning of an episode. However, in H3, H4, S3 and S4 woori does occur in the middle of an episode.

3.1.2 Connectives within sentences

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(24) H6.8

then PRES-1S-be-FV what

8d --- e-ni-ku-fundukur-a]

PRES-1S-2S-uncover-FV

“If I have finished, if they bury you with the head, then what am I, I will uncover you.”

Raabhe ‘if’ is a Kwaya connective that is used almost exclusively within speech clauses, as can be

seen in the previous example. However, there is one example of raabhe being used outside of speech in S4.29a.

Additives indicate that there is an association between the two conjoined elements. As previously stated, in the Kwaya corpus the additives na ‘and’ and ama ‘or’ are used, but only sparingly. Two instances appear in example (26).

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(27) H6.14

14a Abhaanu bha-ri-ga bha-ta-ri-wo

2.person 3P-COP-HAB 3P-NEG-COP-LOC

14b na esemwene a-ta-ri-wo

CONJ father.POSS.3S 1S-NEG-COP-LOC 14c >> waamuwaabho woone a-ta-ri-wo

relative.POSS.3S 3S.also 1S-NEG-COP-LOC

People weren’t there, and his father wasn’t there, his relative also wasn’t there.

This connective may increase the intensity of a particular passage. Out of the nine occurrences, three of them are in a peak episode, and two more are in the pre-peak episode. This connective emphasizes that one participant is doing or undergoing a similar action as another participant. The occurrences of -oone in H7.5b and S3.22a are not located near the peak. They seem to be acting simply as an additive in these two cases.

3.3 Concessives

Concessives indicate the clause that they introduce counters a previous idea, either by directly contradicting an idea previously expressed or by countering an inference or expectation generated by previous material. In general, concessives are not used in Kwaya. Only one concessive is located in the texts: rakiini ‘but’, which is used in a speech clause. However, the concessive is clearly borrowed from Swahili lakini, raising the question of whether Kwaya concessives exist.

3.4 Thematic development markers

Thematic developmentmarkers (TDMs) indicate important steps in reaching the story’s objective. They do not signal discontinuities of time, place, action or participants, and can therefore be found at various places within a paragraph (not just at the beginning or end). They do not occur in the orientation section of a narrative, because the objective of the story has not been established at this point. Some Bantu languages do not have TDMs. In those languages that do have TDMs, they can take the form of connectives (linking clauses and sentences), or they can be indicated by the way in which participants are referred to, such as through the use of different kinds of demonstrative in Fuliiru. Languages also differ in how frequently TDMs usually occur.

In Kwaya there is no clear evidence of TDMs, either in the way connectives are used or in the way that participants are referred to.

4 Participant reference

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4.1 Nominal forms in Kwaya

In Kwaya participants can be referred to using a variety of nominal forms. The following are the most common examples:

• Proper names • Simple noun phrases

• Noun phrases each consisting of a noun plus a demonstrative • Independent pronouns

• Emphatic pronouns

• Subject and object prefixes (verbal agreement)

The following six examples illustrate the use of the various nominal forms.

(28) H3.3a: Proper name

3a Baadaye Wamutuujua _^n-e-emuk-a

later Wamutuuju NARR-3S-awoke-FV

a_Wamutuuju_{is the proper name for Hare}_._{This is a recurring character in many children’s fables in the region.}

Later Wamutuuju woke up…

(29) H6.2: Simple noun phrase

2 Woori bhabhiri na waamuwaabho muka esemwene ^n-aa-kor-a ichuuki ya shetaani now 2.two CONJ relative.POSS.3S wife father.POSS.3S NARR-3S-make-FV 9.hatred 9.ASSOC Satan Now, the two and his relative, his father’s wife made a satanic hatred.

(30) H1.4a: Noun phrase consisting of a noun plus a demonstrative

4a Omwana uyo owa ekiyara ^n-aa-kur-a a-ri ewaabho ayo

1.child 1.DEM2 1.ASSOC 7.female NARR-3S-grow up-FV 3S-COP 17.POSS.3S 16.DEM2 That female child grew up there at their place…

(31) H6.47b: Independent pronoun

47b weeki k-e-emb-a

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(32) S2.2: Emphatic pronoun

Pre-NO Pre-NI S V O/C Post-NI Post-NO

2 Naanye :n-a-amb-ire okureebha iika waasu

1S.EMPHPN 1S-P3-start-P3 INF.herd 9.house 9.POSS.1P Indeed I started to herd at our house.

(33) H7.24: Verbal agreement

24 --- M-ba-sig-ag-a >> ayo akabhwa keebhwe

NARR-3P-stop-HAB-FV 16.DEM2 12.dog 12.POSS.3P

Then they were leaving there their small dog.

4.2 Introduction of participants

In fictional narratives major and minor participants are introduced most often with a descriptive noun phrase and presentational articulation as described in section 6.2. No human participants are given names in any of the texts. The following is an example of an orientation section introduction of participants:

(34) H1.1a

Pre-NO Pre-NI S V O/C Post-NI Post-NO

1a >> :A-a-ri-ga a-ri-wo omukaruka umwi na mukaaye

3S-P3-COP-HAB 3S-COP-LOC 1.old man 1.one CONJ 1.wife.POSS.3S There was there one old man and his wife.

If the major participant is a known character (such as the hare), then a proper name can be used:

(35) H3.1

Pre-NO Pre-NI S V O/C Post-NI Post-NO

1 Ng’wena na Mutuuju :bha-a-ri-ga bha-tareene obhusaani

crocodile CONJ hare 3P-P3-COP-HAB 3P-do:P2 14.friendship Crocodile and Hare were developing a friendship.

In nonfiction narratives the narrator does not introduce himself or herself with a descriptive noun phrase; rather, in each text the main participant is introduced in different ways. In S2 an emphatic 1S pronoun naanye is used, along with agreement on the verb. In S4 the narrator only uses subject prefixes on the verb, and in S3 an independent pronoun is used with agreement on the verb, as shown in example (36).

(36) S3.1

1 Anye obhumura bhwani << na-a-ga n-i-ikaa-ye kw-Irugwa 1S.INDPN 14.youth 14.POSS.1S 1S-P3-HAB 1S-P3-live-P3 LOC-Irugwa I, in my childhood, was living in Irugwa.

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(37) H4.16a

16a Woori abhaanu bha-a-tur-ag-a

Now 2.people 3P-P1-pass-HAB-FV

Now, people were passing…

H2 is the only text in which individual minor participants are introduced, and this is accomplished in two different ways in this text. The first is by preposing the participant owa okwamba (‘he of first’—the first person) from the canonical post-verbal object position; clause 6a in example (38) illustrates this method. The second is through postposing the subject as illustrated in clause 7 of the same example, where owa kabhiri (‘he of second’—the second person) is the subject of ^Naaja ‘He came’.

(38) H2.6–H2.7

6a Mmbe owa okwamba --- m-ba-mu-yaan-a << omutiyaani So 1.ASSOC INF.start NARR-3P-3S-give-FV 3.test

6b --- ^n-aa-tamw-a

NARR-3S-fail-FV

7 >> ^N-aa-j-a owa kabhiri

NARR-3S-come-FV 1.ASSOC 12.two

So the first, they gave him the test, he failed. He came, the second (person).

4.3 Reactivation of participants after an absence

The most common manner of reactivating a major participant is with a distal demonstrative plus a noun. In example (39) the relative is reintroduced after an absence of ten sentences.

(39) H1.18

18a [--- :E-e-j-ire oku-remer-a bha-chaa-ri]

3S-P3-come-P3 INF.refuse-FV 3P-PER-COP 18b [18a] waamuwaabho urya ^n-aa-bha-ror-a

relative.POSS.3S 1.DEM3 NARR-3S-3P-see-FV While she was still refusing, that relative saw them...

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(40) H8.3f–H8.4a

Pre-NO Pre-NI S V O/C Post-NI Post-NO

3f --- ^n-aa-nyoor-a abhayeesi

NARR-3S-meet-FV 2.blacksmith

4a Abhayeesi bharya --- ka-a-bha-bhwir-a << ati [4b–4c]

2.blacksmith 2.DEM3 PRES-3S-3P-tell-FV that

…he met some blacksmiths. Those blacksmiths, he told them that…

An observed pattern in the corpus data is that while the distal demonstrative is used for reactivation in the subject position, the proximal demonstrative is used when a participant is reactivated as the object

of the verb. This can be observed in line 20a of example (41): even though the object has been preposed before the verb, omugasi unu ‘this woman’ has not been mentioned since the third sentence in the narrative.

(41) H2.20

20a Na anye e-ne-end-a omugasi unu

CONJ 1S.INDPN PRES-1S-want-FV 1.woman 1.DEM1

20b na omugasi unu --- ni-mw-end-ere << muno

CONJ 1.woman 1.DEM1 1S-2S-love-P2 very

20c --- ni-kor-e kutiki

1S-do-SUBJ what

And I want this woman, and this woman I love very much, what should I do?

When an animal is a major participant in a narrative, it can be reactivated by proper name or agreement on the verb. Reactivation by agreement on the verb only occurs in the episodic narrative H8 in reference to Injiramaguta ‘Hare’. Example (42) shows reactivation of the Injiramaguta after an absence of one episode. He was still there, and then Hare came.

After minor participants exit the narrative, they may be referred to, but they do not return to complete an action. There are no examples of a minor participant being reactivated to perform a role.

4.4 Further reference to active participants

Any forms of participant reference mentioned in section 4.1 can be used to refer to an active participant. The most common forms used are either subject/object prefix on the verb alone, or a referential

demonstrative in a noun phrase. In example (43), H2.17 uses a subject prefix be- to refer to abhaanu

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(43) H2.17–H2.18

17 --- M-be-egar-a-wo omuryango

NARR-3P-close-FV-LOC 3.door

18 Mmbe woori omumura uyo ^n-a-amb-a okwiganiirisha [19a–21]

Then now 1.boy 1.DEM2 NARR-1S-start-FV INF.think Then they closed there the door. So, then that boy started to think.

The proximal demonstrative can also be used to refer to an active participant, though it is less common. In general, the proximal demonstrative is used in speech clauses, and in non-speech clauses it is more likely to occur following a speech clause, as can be seen in H4.11a. The proximal demonstrative is also used once to refer to an active participant following a significant change of focus and location. The subject in H1.21c is the daughter. The focus is then changed to the location and life of the servant, which is in direct contrast to the location and life of the daughter, as shown in example (44).

(44) H1.21c–22b

21c --- m-ba-mu-yaan-ag-a mirimu emisito

NARR-3P-3S-give-HAB-FV 4.work 4.hard 22a Unu omugaya owa omwenda gwa ekisi ^n-aa-sigar-a

1.DEM1 1.servant 1.ASSOC 3.cloth 3.ASSOC 7.fine NARR-3S-remain-FV

22b --- ^n-aa-ry-a ebhiinu iika

NARR-3s-eat-FV 7.thing house

…then they were giving her hard labor. This servant of the nice clothes then remained, eating things at the house.

With regard to how demonstratives are used, it seems as though patterns do not necessarily apply once the text reaches the peak episode. In the text H1, other than locative demonstratives, there are no demonstratives used for the remainder of the text once the peak episode starts. However, in H2 the distal demonstrative is used with greater frequency beginning in the second peak episode and continuing through the denouement. In other texts the demonstrative paradigm is not affected as much as in these two texts.

4.5 Pronouns

Independent pronouns are more likely to occur within speech clauses. In the fictional narratives there is only one instance of an independent pronoun outside of a speech clause, and it seems to indicate a change of subject, or contrast:2

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(45) H6.47

47a Baasi --- ^n-aa-gend-ag-a kutyo [47b]

So NARR-3S-go-HAB-FV MANN.DEM2

47b weeki k-e-emb-a

3S.INDPN PRES-3S-sing-FV

So, he (the father) went along in this way, while he (the son) sang.

In the nonfictional narratives independent pronouns are used on occasion to introduce the next speaker in a dialogue. The only occurrence of an independent pronoun, outside of speech clauses or the introduction of the next speaker, is when the narrator is referring to himself or herself.

The conjunction na ‘and’ can be cliticized to the 3S pronominal form we to indicate that a certain participant did something with another participant. In example (46) nawe ‘with him’ follows the verb.

(46) H6.48 He was singing, and was going with him.

5 Tense and aspect in foreground and background

In a narrative, events are organized chronologically. Consequently, foreground material consists of events that take place in chronological sequence. This sequence of events is called the event line (also known as the theme line or main line). Typically, most of the events on the event line will be actions performed intentionally by the participants in the story. Non-event material and events presented out of sequence are classified as background material in narrative. Foreground and background are often distinguished through the use of tense and aspect.

5.1 Tense and aspect markers in Kwaya

The tense and aspect paradigm for Kwaya has not been fully analyzed or described at this point so the following information is based on observations and a tentative analysis.

There are three past tenses in Kwaya and three future tenses. In this paper the past tenses are referred to as P1, P2 and P3; P3 is the remote past tense, P2 is the intermediate past and P1 is the near past. Kwaya also has an anterior and a past anterior form. When the anterior form has a 1S subject, it is segmentally identical to the narrative (NARR) form when the subject is 3S.These two forms are tonally different, however, so in order to differentiate them orthographically, the NARR form is preceded by a caret. Similarly, the past anterior is segmentally identical in form to P3 except for tone. Orthographically, verbs inflected for P3 are preceded by a colon to differentiate the two forms.

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5.2 Foreground

The main TAM forms used in the foreground are narrative (NARR) and present (PRES). The default for foregrounding is NARR, which does not need to be preceded by P3 or any other past tense form, as can be seen in examples (5) and (8) in section 1.3.2. In some narratives, such as H7, the very first verb of the text is NARR.

Outside of direct speech, PRES occurs only before speech clauses in narrative texts. NARR can also be used when introducing a speech clause, but PRES is used most often to introduce a speech clause, as in example (47).

(47) H2.5–H2.6

5a Abhaanu bhayo a-bha-aik-a ati [5b]

2.person 2.DEM2 PRES-3P-say-FV that

5b [Aa anye e-ni-ga-tur-a era]

Aa 1S.INDPN PRES-1S-6-able-FV easily

6a Mmbe owa okwamba --- m-ba-mu-yaan-a << omutiyaani

So ASSOC.1 INF.begin NARR-3P-3S-give-FV 3.test

6b --- ^n-aa-tam-w-a

NARR-3S-win-PASS-FV

Those people say that, “Aa I can do it easily.” So, the first, they gave him the test, and he failed.

5.3 Background

Background TAM forms are more varied and complex than the ones used in the foreground. The most common tense for background information is the remote past tense (P3). The copula ri commonly occurs in a P3 compound form to place participants in a particular location during background information. This is in fact how participants are introduced in the orientation section, as well as at other points in a narrative, as shown in clause 19a below.

(48) H4.19

Pre-NO Pre-NI S V O/C Post-NI Post-NO

19a --- :A-a-ri-ga a-chaa-ri

3S-P3-COP-HAB 3S-PERS-COP

19b Injiramaguta n-ii-j-a

Hare NARR-9-come-FV

He was still there, and then Hare came.

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(49) H7.8

8a --- Bha-a-saam-ag-a

3P-P1-swim-HAB-FV

8b --- bha-a-ring-ir-a

3P-P1-watch-APP-FV

8c --- bha-a-ror-a ging’ombe giri-wo

3P-P1-see-FV 10.cow 10.COP-LOC

8d --- bha-a-ring-ir-a

3P-P1-watch-APP-FV

8e ging’ombe n-gy-amb-a okuribhata

10.cow NARR-10-start-FV INF.walk

8f ebhikokomwaro m-bi-sigar-a-wo

8.type of bird NARR-8-remain-FV-LOC

They were swimming, watching, seeing the cows, watching, then the cows started walking and the birds stayed behind.

There are other TAM forms used for background information with minimal attestation in the data. Past anterior occurs in H3.1, and the intermediate past (P2) with completive aspect occurs in H7.54. In S3, P2 occurs three times, and the subjunctive occurs a few times in the personal narratives S2, S3 and S4.

5.4 Movement expressions

In Kwaya movement towards or away from the deictic center is lexicalized in the verbs okuja ‘to come’

and okugenda ‘to go’. Other verbs of movement do not use any itive or ventive morphemes associated

with the movement. Example (50) illustrates the movement verb okutuma ‘to send’, but this verb form does not have any morphemes or particles that are itive or ventive. The example also illustrates that

okugenda ‘to go’ in the O/C column of clause 6a indicates movement away from the deictic center, where

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(50) H1.6–H1.7

6a Kimwi abheebhusi bhaaye m-ba-tum-a omuunu okugenda okumubhwira waamuwaabho [6b][6c–7]

So 2.parent 2.POSS.3S NARR-3P-send-FV 1.person INF-go INF-3S-tell relative.POSS.3S

6b [uyo --- a-ri mu-bhyaro]

1.DEM2 3S-COP LOC-14.country

6c [omusubhaati waaye k-aa-j-a okumukeesha

1.sister 1.POSS.3S PRES-3S-come-FV INF.3S.greet 7 Na omusubhaati waaye

uyo

k-aa-j-a a-fwa-ye omwenda omurebhe]

CONJ 1.sister 1.POSS.3S 1.DEM2 PRES-3S-come-FV 3S-wear-PSTANT

3.clothes 3.certain

So, her parents then sent a man to go tell her relative, who was living in that country, that his sister is coming to greet him. And that sister will come wearing certain clothes.

5.5 Summary

The narrative is the primary tense used for foreground information, though the present tense is used occasionally as well. P3, often in combination with the copula ri, is the most common verbal form for background information. P1 can also be used in background.

Movement expressions are lexicalized in the verbs okuja ‘to come’, which has a movement towards the deictic center, and okugenda ‘to go’, which has movement away from the deictic center.

6 Information structure

Information structure concerns the ways in which narrators help hearers and readers to identify new information in a sentence and to combine it with information that they already have in order to arrive at a coherent interpretation. Information structure in Kwaya is primarily expressed through the relative order of subject, verb, object and oblique constituents in a sentence. The default word order in Kwaya is SVO.

6.1 Fundamental concepts in information structure

Information structure deals with the relationship between linguistic form and the nature of the

information it presents. Sentence structure reflects a speaker or writer’s assumptions about what the hearer or reader already knows. For example, the writer of a narrative may use a certain constituent order when the information expressed by the object is what the sentence is about (the topic), compared to when the object does not fulfill this particular role. What is said about the topic is termed the

comment. A sentence in which there is a topic and a comment about that topic is said to have

topic-comment articulation. If the topic of a sentence is the same as that of the previous sentence, it is called a

continued topic; if it is different, it is called a switch topic.

Another important information structure category is that of focus. When a constituent fills an information gap in a reader’s mental representation of a text, it is called the focus of the sentence. If a whole sentence is given without any link to the established context, that sentence has sentence focus. If the subject of a sentence is already established in the discourse context and the predicate fills an information gap about that subject in the reader’s mental representation, that sentence is said to have

predicate focus. If, rather than the sentence as a whole or the predicate, an argument of the verb is the

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identificational articulation, as it identifies which argument should fill the gap in the reader’s mental representation of the text.

In Kwaya the information structure categories outlined above are chiefly expressed through constituent order.

6.2 Presentational articulation (sentence focus)

In presentational articulation an entity is introduced into a text without being linked to any established material. The presentational form in Kwaya involves a postposed subject. The following is one example of presentational articulation, which is found in the orientation section of many of the Kwaya texts:

(51) H1.1

1a >> :A-a-ri-ga a-ri-wo omukaruka umwi na mukaaye 3S-P3-COP-HAB 3S-COP-LOC 1.man 1.one CONJ 1.wife.3S

1b --- m-be-ebhur-a mwana wa kimura

NARR-3P-give birth-FV 1.child 1.ASSOC 7.male There was a man and his wife, they had a son.

Presentational articulation can also be seen in H2.1, H4.1, H6.1 and H8.1, in the orientation section of each text.

Presentational articulation is also used almost every time a new participant is introduced

throughout the text H2. Potential suitors are introduced in H2.7 and H2.9a, both using presentational articulation. The frog, who is a major participant, is also introduced halfway through the story, in the form of a postposed subject after the verb ja ‘come’.

(52) H2.23

Pre-NO Pre-NI S V O/C Post-NI Post-NO

23a [Woori bhunu --- :a-a-ri-ga a-che-egani-ir-ish-a] Now while 3S-P3-COP-HAB 3S-PERS-think-APP-CAUS-FV

23b [23a] mmbe >> ^n-aa-j-a Waarukerwe

so NARR-3S-come-FV frog

Now, while he was still continuing to think, (there) came a frog.

6.3 Topic-comment articulation (predicate focus with a switch topic)

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(53) H6.20–H6.21

20 Abhaanu m-ba-gend-a ku-mwaro

2.person NARR-3P-go-FV LOC-3.lake

21 Omwana urya a-ri mu-manji

1.child. 1.DEM3 3S-COP LOC-6.water

Then people went to the lake. That child was there in the water.

If it is clear from the context who the topic is because of the subject prefix, then the noun phrase and demonstrative may be omitted. In the text H2 the first half of the story goes back and forth between a group of people and a single participant, and there are far fewer noun phrases in this portion of the text. In example (54) the referent is clear due to the plural versus singular forms of the subject and object prefixes.

Now, there was there one person and he came. They told him that…

Later in this same text, a frog enters the scene. At this point in the text, the subject prefixes for the two different participants are the same, so noun phrases are used to indicate a switch in the topic of the sentence. This is shown in example (55). In clause 28a frog speaks; when the subject changes in the next sentence, a noun phrase is needed.

(55) H2.28a and H2.29a

28a Woori Waarukerwe ^n-aa-mu-bhwir-a ati [28b–28c]

now frog NARR-3S-3S-tell-FV that

29a Omumura uyo ^n-aa-mu-bhwir-a ati [29b–29c]

1.boy 1.DEM2 NARR-3S-3S-tell-FV that

Now, Frog told him (the boy) that…That boy told him (the frog) that…

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(56) H8.3f–H8.4a

3f --- ^n-aa-nyoor-a abhayeesi

NARR-3S-meet-FV 2.blacksmith

4a Abhayeesi bharya --- ka-a-bha-bhwir-a << ati [4b–4c]

2.blacksmith 2.DEM3 PRES-3S-3P-tell-FV that

…he met some blacksmiths. Those blacksmiths, he told them that…

6.4 Predicate focus with a continued topic

As previously mentioned, in predicate focus where the topic is the same, the default manner of presenting this information is with a subject prefix on the verb, as shown in example (57).

(57) H3.4c–H3.5b

…then they went visiting. When they wanted to leave there, then they entrusted him…

When the topic continues across an episode boundary, then a noun phrase and at times a

demonstrative can be used to reinforce the topic in the hearer/reader’s mind. In fact, in almost all cases when a continued topic is made explicit, it is across an episode boundary. The following example from the text H2 is the end of the orientation section (H2.2), followed by the first clause of the inciting episode. Even though the topic is continued in 3a, a noun phrase is used.

(58) H2.2–H2.3a

2 Abhaanu m-be-end-a okumutwara omuyara uyo

2.person NARR-3P-want-FV INF.3S.marry 1.girl 1.DEM2 3a Woori abhatwasi bhayo m-ba-gend-a owa omukaruka uyo

Now 2.suitor 2.DEM2 NARR-3P-go-FV 1.ASSOC 1.old man 1.DEM2 People wanted to marry that girl. Now, those suitors went to that old man…

6.5 Identificational articulation (argument focus)

Two types of identificational articulation have been found in the corpus. The first method is to postpose a focused subject, and the second is to use a cleft construction.

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(59) H6.28–H6.29

7.DEM2 PRES-7-sing-FV LOC-6-water 16.DEM2

29a >> A-ri-wo omuunu ayo

3S-COP-LOC 1.person 16.DEM2

29b --- k-e-emb-a

PRES-3S-sing-FV

So, those then said that, “Aa, what is it, that thing that is singing in the water there?” There is a person there, singing!

Argument focus can also be expressed through the use of a cleft construction. In example (60) the cleft construction functions to identify the mother as the one who puts the boy in the trap. In this case, the first clause of the construction is a relative clause, expressing the known information. The second clause then uses a copula to identify the mother, which is the unknown information and thus the focused argument.

(60) H6.54

54a Rijibhu --- k-a-aik-a ati [54b–54c]

5.answer PRES-3S-say-FV that

54b [Unu a-a-n-dukiiye akadundubhwi

1.DEM1 3S-P3-1S-prepare:APP:P3 12.thing-a-ma-bob

54c --- ni maayi yaani muka raata]

COP mother meaning 1.wife father

In answer he said that, “(The one) who prepared for me the thing-a-ma-bob is mother, meaning father’s wife.”

6.6 Summary

Presentational articulation is accomplished by postposing the subject. This occurs most often in the orientation section of a text. However, when a major character is introduced later on in the text, then presentational articulation can be used again.

When there is a switch topic, it is common to use a noun phrase, often coupled with a

demonstrative.3_{The exception to this is when the subject prefixes on the verb clearly show who or what}

the topic is, in which case subject prefixes on the verb may be the only indicator that the topic has changed.

When the topic is the same from clause to clause, then the default representation of that topic is through a subject prefix alone. If there is an episode break but the topic remains the same, then a noun phrase can be used to reiterate that topic.

Identificational articulation can be accomplished either by postposing the subject or through a cleft construction.